PGFα prostaglandins and prostaglandin analogues comprise a cyclopentyl ring carrying two hydroxyl groups in a cis configuration and two side chains in a trans configuration. The side chains may contain double bonds and a variety of substituents. They have a number of therapeutic uses, e.g. for the treatment of glaucoma and ocular hypertension or to induce and accelerate labour.
A variety of methods of synthesising PGFα prostaglandins and prostaglandin analogues are known and are disclosed in, e.g. Chem. Rev. (1993, vol. 93, pages 1533–1564), WO 02/096868, WO 02/090324 and Chinese Journal of Medicinal Chemistry (1998, vol. 36, pages 213–217).